I never thought I’d see the day where I was asking my hubby for kitchen appliances rather than jewelry or shoes but……well, life changes doesn’t it? I’m trying to get my family to eat healthy (especially my husband who has Primary Progressive MS) but I barely have time to grocery shop let alone the time needed to make healthy meals.

What I’ve learned is that I needed kitchen gadgets that make cooking easier and faster with less clean up. Here are the products that I either have or are on my wish list.

Instant Pot

Click to purchase on Amazon

I’m a huge fan of one pot meals in my crock pot. I almost always have something in my crock pot at least two or three times a week. I started hearing about the Instant Pot last year and this is on the TOP of my list now! An Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, crock pot, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/searing pan, steamer and warming pot all rolled into one handy item. I originally thought that it was merely a pressure cooker and was able to cook brisket and other tough meats in a fraction of the time but then I learned it is so much more. This isn’t your grandma’s pressure cooker! You can make mashed potatoes in minutes, rice comes out fluffy, ribs are tasty like slow-cooked but half the time – you can even make cakes in it! And, unlike a traditional slow cooker, you can put frozen meat directly into it. This

Nutribullet

Click to purchase on Amazon

I’m a huge fan of smoothies. It’s a quick breakfast or lunch when I’m running late but even more importantly I can get in at least 4 fruits and veggie servings for me and the fam at the start of the day. I literally get spinach into every one of my smoothies and trust me – it might be green but you do not taste the spinach at all! At first I thought I could just get by with my blender but I learned there’s a big difference! First, the Nutribullet mixer is the cup so no need to mess up another glass and then have to clean the blender like I used to. Plus, with the Nutribullet I can just throw things in – no prep except for washing the fruits and veggies. Most importantly, unlike a blender, the Nutribullet literally pulverizes every you put into to it which helps unlock vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids (such as omega-3s) that have been trapped within the cell walls of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. It’s a smooth smoothie loaded with nutrients.

Whiskware Pancake Batter Mixer with BlenderBall Wire Whisk

Click to purchase on Amazon

My son loves pancakes. My mom who lives with us is in charge of making pancakes on the weekends but it’s a ridiculous mess (she uses her old fashioned electric frying pan, no stove top for her!) to clean up. Plus I’d love my son to start doing this on his own. Enter the Whiskware Pancake Batter Mixer. The batter mixer cleans up in less than 30 seconds and parts are top-rack dishwasher safe. Plus, the base doubles as a stand to keep the mixer stable while cooking. Now if I could stop him from getting the syrup all over the place!

I’m working really hard to get carbs out of our life but it’s hard when I have two kids who LOVE pasta! I’ve been slowly introducing zoodles (zucchini noodles) with marinara sauce and they’re enjoying it. But the price of one package of fresh zucchini noodles is ridiculous and if I buy them on the weekend if I don’t use them right away they get a little funky. This Vegetable Noodle Maker makes perfect noodles quickly and a lot cheaper than buying them in the store.

GeniCan

Click to learn more at genican.com

Nothing makes me crazier than planning out my dinner menu only to find that I don’t have one ingredient because no one bothered to tell me that we ran out. I’ll admit, sometimes that person is me! I’ll finish up one of my spices and completely forget when I get to the grocery that I need to replenish. The GeniCan puts an end to that. This is a smart device that attaches to the inside of your garbage or recycling bin and scans the bar code on anything you’re throwing out. So, when your kids finish the last piece of sandwich bread when they toss the wrapper into the garbage they can scan the bar code on the bag and it will automatically be saved to a shopping list on your smartphone or delivered directly through Amazon Dash. If something doesn’t have a bar code, like a banana, just hold the peel over the sensor and you’ll be prompted to say what item you want added to your list. I love the idea of having everything added to my grocery list as soon as it’s finished. And, when I’m on the road for business I can have it all delivered!